Cbdhemp808's Comparison Grow - HI-BISCUS SIP Bucket Vs. Nursery Pot

DAY 34

This is a quick report for the SIP only. I top-fertigated with about 1.25+ gal (most from the top, a little down the tube). The rez is at 2.5".

I noticed that it takes a while now for the rez level to settle down, meaning the water added to the top is taking a bit longer to infiltrate the domes. I think this is probably due to roots being all around the domes now.
 
DAY 36

DAY 32: HEIGHT... SIP - 33.00", POT - 35.00", Δ -2.00
DAY 36: HEIGHT... SIP - 34.00", POT - 37.00", Δ -3.00

The POT plant was fed on DAY 32; the SIP was fed on DAY 34. SIP feeding was delayed to let the medium dry out some. Both containers are still heavy. The SIP rez is at 1.5", down from 2.5" two days ago.

The POT plant has had two more days to respond to feeding and has noticeably darker leaves now. The SIP plant in the background is well-fed and a good reference point for leaf color.
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SIP on left, nursery POT on right
 
DAY 38

DAY 36: HEIGHT... SIP - 34.00", POT - 37.00", Δ -3.00
DAY 38: HEIGHT... SIP - 35.00", POT - 37.25", Δ -2.25

The SIP rez is below 1/2" and bucket is still heavy. The POT was ready for more fertigation, so I top-fertigated to runoff with high-N liquid fert and kelp tea.

This is the first time I've made kelp tea. I used organic kelp powder from the natural food store, and added 2 tsp in 1 quart of filtered water, shook the jar lots, and soaked overnight in the fridge. After shaking the jar lots again, I added 1/2 quart to my 2-gal fertigation bucket. Note this is not what's sold as "water soluble" kelp powder, but it does dissolve very well. When the tea is mixed into the fertigation solution, there is no settling if the solution is used right away.
 
DAY 39

Leaf color is starting to improve on the SIP plant.

DAY 38: HEIGHT... SIP - 35.00", POT - 37.25", Δ -2.25
DAY 39: HEIGHT... SIP - 36.00", POT - 38.50", Δ -2.50

The SIP rez is empty and the bucket weighs 29.5 lb, which is 2.9 lb above the baseline weight of 26.6 lb, which equates to 1.4 qt of water. The POT weighs 28.3 lb, which is 2.6 lb above the baseline weight of 25.7 lb, which equates to 1.25 qt of water. (The POT was fertigated yesterday.)

Both containers should be ready for more fertigation tomorrow.
 
DAY 41

Leaf color continues to improve on the SIP plant. The POT plant leaves are a deep green.

DAY 39: HEIGHT... SIP - 36.00", POT - 38.50", Δ -2.50
DAY 41: HEIGHT... SIP - 36.50", POT - 39.25", Δ -2.75

I fertigated both plants today. SIP rez is at 2.5".
 
DAY 42

The SIP plant grew 1" in a day... good sign!

DAY 41: HEIGHT... SIP - 36.50", POT - 39.25", Δ -2.75
DAY 42: HEIGHT... SIP - 37.50", POT - 40.50", Δ -3.00

SIP rez is at 1.25", down from 2.5" yesterday.
 
DAY 43

The SIP plant shrunk a half inch! I get the impression that the plant is putting energy into the side branches. But height going down by a half inch? The soil is heavy with water... some kinda weird settling going on!

DAY 42: HEIGHT... SIP - 37.50", POT - 40.50", Δ -3.00
DAY 42: HEIGHT... SIP - 37.00", POT - 41.00", Δ -4.00

SIP rez is empty! Down from 1.25" yesterday. But the SIP container is quite heavy.

So, on Thursday SIP rez was at 2.5", which I think amounts to about 2.4 quarts. That all got consumed and wicked up in 3 days.

Both plants have deep green leaves now.
 
The SIP soil is quite saturated. Now that the plant is well fed, should I go ahead and fertigate to runoff down the tube? Fertigate at all right now, or wait for the container to lighten up?

🤔
 
cbdhemp808 said:
The SIP soil is quite saturated. Now that the plant is well fed, should I go ahead and fertigate to runoff down the tube? Fertigate at all right now, or wait for the container to lighten up?

🤔
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Once the water roots get established, most SIP growers keep water in the reservoir all the time, so no letting it dry down. SIP plants develop different roots than you get with the wet/dry cycle so I'm not sure there's much to gain by letting it lighten up.
 
Azimuth said:
Once the water roots get established, most SIP growers keep water in the reservoir all the time, so no letting it dry down. SIP plants develop different roots than you get with the wet/dry cycle so I'm not sure there's much to gain by letting it lighten up.
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Oh man, my wet/dry mind is doing flips. I guess this is it... time for the rocket launch! Full nutes pedal to the metal baby! Well, as long as the sun is out tomorrow... we've been getting a lot of rain and clouds lately.

By the way, my CBD #9 in the SIP is lookin' freakin' amazing. I'll take a photo when she's moved to the flower house.
 
Because the plant has constant access to water in a SIP it doesn't need to spend resources on building the thick, white water seeking roots but instead fills the pot with the very fine feeder roots.

So, two things; one, might as well put those to work with enough feeding and two, if you do the dry down thing the plant will try to shift gears and switch to start building water roots, spending energy better used elsewhere.

You'll find the biomass on a SIP plant run properly to be much more dramatic than a wet/dry plant.

That, however, hasn't worked great for me when running organics in my small 2G pots since the soil stays too moist and I can't get brix levels up high enough so I'm trying trying a compromise version now to see if I can get the best of both worlds, and organic, high brix SIP.
 
Azimuth said:
Because the plant has constant access to water in a SIP it doesn't need to spend resources on building the thick, white water seeking roots but instead fills the pot with the very fine feeder roots.

So, two things; one, might as well put those to work with enough feeding and two, if you do the dry down thing the plant will try to shift gears and switch to start building water roots, spending energy better used elsewhere.

You'll find the biomass on a SIP plant run properly to be much more dramatic than a wet/dry plant.

That, however, hasn't worked great for me when running organics in my small 2G pots since the soil stays too moist and I can't get brix levels up high enough so I'm trying trying a compromise version now to see if I can get the best of both worlds, and organic, high brix SIP.
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Very interesting, thanks. I didn't really make the connection yet that the wicking brings the water and ferts up to the upper roots, at the same time the water-seeking roots are down in the rez. So there's two dynamics going on, in terms of water and nutrient uptake. Whereas with a nursery pot, it's just the feeder roots.
 
DAY 46

DAY 43: HEIGHT... SIP - 37.00", POT - 41.00", Δ -4.00
DAY 46: HEIGHT... SIP - 38.00", POT - 41.75", Δ -3.75

The SIP rez is down to under 1", so I'll fertigate again today. The POT is still heavy.
 
When the SIP plant reaches 42" I'll transfer both to the flower house.

4 inches to go!
 
DAY 47

SIP reservoir filled again! BUT I just filled it yesterday! The POT is still a bit too heavy to fertigate.

:morenutes:
 
DAY 48

DAY 43: HEIGHT... SIP - 37.00", POT - 41.00", Δ -4.00
DAY 46: HEIGHT... SIP - 38.00", POT - 41.75", Δ -3.75
DAY 48: HEIGHT... SIP - 39.25", POT - 42.50", Δ -3.25

SIP rez is at 1.5", down from 3.25" yesterday. POT is still a bit too heavy to fertigate.

At this rate, the SIP plant would reach 42" in 6 days. I predict 4-5 days... Monday or Tuesday.
 
DAY 49

DAY 48: HEIGHT... SIP - 39.25", POT - 42.50", Δ -3.25
DAY 49: HEIGHT... SIP - 40.50", POT - 43.00", Δ -2.50

SIP rez was empty. I fertigated both plants.

The SIP rez capacity has dropped some, apparently due to roots inhabiting the reservoir. Capacity is down to about 2.5" from 3.25", or about 3 quarts instead of 1 gal. (I'm seeing the same now for my other SIP plant in flower.)
 
DAY 50

SIP rez was down below an inch again... I fertigated 1/2 gal down the tube. I think it's gonna be daily now. I'll try top watering again. POT was too heavy to fertigate.
 
DAY 52

DAY 49: HEIGHT... SIP - 40.50", POT - 43.00", Δ -2.50
DAY 52: HEIGHT... SIP - 41.00", POT - 45.00", Δ -4.00

SIP rez was empty. Since the bucket was still a bit heavy, I decided to fertigate down the tube. I also fertigated the POT. Both containers got roughly 1 gal.

This should be the last feeding before transfer to flower in a day or two.
 
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